Self-monitoring and dating relationships.

Four investigations, with 479 university students, examined the involvement of self-monitoring propensities in dating relationships. Studies 1 and 2 examined willingness to change dating partners and form close, intimate dating relationships with other partners. Only Ss high in self-monitoring, as measured by the Self-Monitoring Scale, were willing to terminate current relationships in favor of alternative partners. In Study 3, for those involved in multiple dating relationships, high self-monitoring Ss reported having dated a greater number of partners in the preceding year than low self-monitoring Ss; for those in steady, exclusive dating relationships, low self-monitoring Ss reported having dated their current partner for considerably longer than high self-monitoring individuals. Study 4 examined growth of intimacy in dating relationships. The link between length of relationship and level of intimacy was more pronounced for low than high self-monitoring Ss. Findings suggest that high self-monitoring individuals adopt an "uncommitted" and low self-monitoring individuals a "committed" orientation toward dating relationships. Implications for understanding the evolution of intimate relationships, including marital ones, are discussed. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Authoritarianism, ideology, and political candidate choice.

2 experiments were conducted investigating the relationship between F Scale scores and preference for the candidates of a particular party or ideology. Exp. I showed that Ss with high scores on the F Scale preferred the Republican party and voted for Nixon while those with low scores preferred the Democratic party and voted for Kennedy. The relationship was hypothesized to appear because (a) both candidates clearly differed in the degree to which they represetned liberal and conservative ideologies, (b) the voters possessed an ideological outlook, and (c) liberal or conservative values were more salient than other factors in the choice of candidates. In Exp. II, 3 samples of students were presented with different pairs of candidates: liberal Democrat and conservative Republican, liberal Republican and conservative Democrat, and candidates ideologically equated. Ignoring candidate ideology, there was no relationship between F score and party vote. When ideology was taken into account, high scorers voted for the conservative candidate and low scorers voted for the liberal candidate regardless of party label. When the stimulus figures were equated ideologically there was no relationship between F scores and choice. There was no support for the hypothesis that choices by high scorers were more subject to the pressure of group norms than those of low scorers. (18 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Agreement set and anticontent attitudes in the F scale: A reinterpretation.

The results of Peabody's (1961) study of attitude content and agreement set, presumably finding 2 kinds of Ss, one prone to agree irrespective of item content, the other likely to take an antiauthoritarian position irrespective of item direction, were reanalyzed. An alternative hypothesis was proposed, which explained the asymmetric results as mainly due to asymmetric reversals of F Scale items and consequent displacement of the neutral points of the reversed items. This displacement made the Ss scoring low on the original scale appear consistent, and the high scorers appear inconsistent in their attitudes at the phenotypic level. Yet while there is some evidence of possible response set, the majority of responses by most Ss seem perfectly consistent if the variation in item location is taken into account. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mastery motivation and the need for approval in older children and their relationship to social desirability response tendencies.

The relative strength of mastery motivation and need for approval was tested among 2 groups of 11-yr-olds, 40 high and 40 low scorers on the Children's Social Desirability Scale. Mastery motivation was inferred from the amount of time that Ss spent in 1 of 2 discrimination tasks, a challenging (unsolvable) or a solvable problem. To measure need for approval, Ss were tested in either a social-reinforcement or an E-absent condition. As predicted, low scorers spent more time in the unsolvable than the solvable task, with negligible condition differences. High scorers spent more time in the social-reinforcement than in the E-absent condition, with negligible task differences. On the solvable task, high Ss demonstrated poorer learning than low Ss. Sex differences revealed greater mastery motivation for boys and greater need for approval for girls. The need to study the developmental course of these motives and to investigate the antecedents of the group differences obtained is emphasized. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anti-Semitism, distraction and physical aggression.

Examined the aggressive responses of persons who varied in level of anti-Semitism and who were either distracted or not distracted from an insulter. 34 male undergraduates, chosen as Ss through a questionnaire which included the 10-item Anti-Semitism Scale and the 28-item California F Scale, participated in a paired associate learning task in which their performance was demeaned by a tape recorded series of disparaging remarks presumably given by their peer. Following this, critical Ss either relaxed under conditions where voice and movement cues from their insulter were heard, or Ss observed a film designed to distract them from their insulter. The critical Ss were then requested to teach their peer a paired associate list under conditions in which they administered shock to their partner. Results of the 3 * 2 * 3 repeated measures analysis of variance with 3 levels of anti-Semitism, 2 distraction conditions, and 3 trials indicate that distraction reduced the intensity of shock delivered to the peer. Ss tended to rate themselves as less annoyed and less anxious under distraction conditions. Ss varying in anti-Semitism did not differ in the amount of shock delivered to their partner. The situational demands may have been powerful enough to override the effects of personality differences. 2 interpretations are offered for the finding that the highly prejudiced Ss perceived the shock delivered to their peer as more painful than the less prejudiced Ss: (a) the possibility that this difference reflected the highly prejudiced Ss' lower guilt level for aggressing; and (b) the possibility that the highly prejudiced Ss used different mechanisms to reduce the discomfort engendered by harming another person than those used by their less prejudiced peers. (French summary) (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Focusing on the exterior and the interior: Two investigations of the initiation of personal relationships.

Tested the hypothesis that the construct of self-monitoring would identify individuals who characteristically adopt distinctly different orientations when initiating dating relationships. In each of 2 studies, low and high self-monitoring men chose a female partner for a date. In Study 1, attentional differences in the initial information-seeking stage of relationship initiation in an open-field setting were examined with 19 high- and 20 low-scoring Ss on a self-monitoring scale. In Study 2, actual choices of dating partners were examined where one type of desirable attribute in a partner had to be sacrificed in order to obtain another type of desirable attribute. 16 high- and 16 low-scoring Ss on a self-monitoring scale participated. Behavioral and self-report evidence revealed that in both the initial information-gathering stage and the actual choice of whom to date, low self-monitoring Ss paid a greater amount of attention to and placed greater weight on information about interior personal attributes than did high self-monitoring Ss; by contrast, high self-monitoring Ss paid more attention to and put greater weight on exterior physical appearance than did low self-monitoring Ss. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of sex role attitudes and similarity on men's rejection of male homosexuals.

Investigated 120 male undergraduates' reactions to homosexuals. Ss preselected on the basis of their profeminist, moderate, or antifeminist scores on the Attitude Toward Feminism Scale were assigned at random to 1 of 4 experimental conditions. Using a standard attraction paradigm design, Ss rated a bogus "partner," who was represented as either homosexual or heterosexual and as having attitudes either similar or dissimilar to theirs. Consistent with prediction, similar partners were liked more than dissimilar partners, and heterosexual partners were liked more than homosexuals. Homosexuals were seen as more dissimilar to the Ss in all conditions. Liberals were more accepting of homosexuals and dissimilar partners than were traditionals. Results are discussed in terms of the relationship between sex role attitudes and tolerance of dissimilarity. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Choosing friends as activity partners: The role of self-monitoring.

Two experiments with 105 undergraduates assessed the involvement of self-monitoring (SM) processes in friendship. Exp I focused on the differential considerations that are involved when high SM and low SM Ss choose friends as partners for leisure-time activities. High SM Ss chose friends as activity partners on the basis of their friends' particular skills in the activity domain. Low SM Ss chose friends as activity partners on the basis of general feelings of liking for their friends. Exp II examined the internal structures of the preferred social worlds of high SM Ss and low SM Ss. High SM Ss preferred relatively partitioned and compartmentalized social worlds in which they would engage in particular activities only with specific partners. Low SM Ss preferred relatively homogeneous and undifferentiated social worlds in which they would spend time with friends who were globally similar to them. Implications for understanding the processes by which individuals facilitate the enactment of their characteristic behavioral orientations, as well as for understanding the nature of friendship itself, are discussed. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measurement of interpersonal orientation.

The construct of interpersonal orientation (IO) is proposed as useful for understanding behavior in certain social situations. High IOs are interested in and reactive to other people; low IOs are less interested and responsive to others and more concerned with economic features of relationships. A self-report measure of IO was constructed; questionnaire and interview data generally supported the hypothesized parameters of the construct, with females scoring higher than males and high scorers (regardless of sex) indicating greater interest in and responsiveness to interpersonal features of their environments. Two experiments were conducted to assess the utility of IO in social situations. In Exp I (82 Ss), a factorial combination of sex and IO eliminated a previously demonstrated sex difference in favor of an IO difference: High IOs expressed greater liking than did low IOs for a partner who had self-disclosed to them. In Exp II (56 Ss), males and low IOs whose performance was either superior or inferior to a partner allocated rewards in accordance with equity theory; females and high IOs seemed more concerned with equality than with equity. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Loneliness and social skill deficits.

Exp I compared conversational behaviors of 48 high-lonely and low-lonely college students (UCLA Loneliness Scale) during brief heterosexual interactions. Results indicate that the 2 loneliness groups differed significantly in their use of a specific class of conversational behaviors termed partner attention, with high-lonely as compared to low-lonely Ss giving less attention to their partners. Exp II directly manipulated the use of partner attention in a group of 18 high-lonely male undergraduates. For that group, increased use of partner attention during dyadic interactions resulted in a significantly greater change in loneliness and related variables relative to interaction-only and no-contact control groups. The utility of conceptualizing loneliness as a social skills problem is discussed. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assimilative projection and accuracy of prediction in interpersonal perceptions.

The Allport-Vernon Scale of Values was given to 52 college students. Two or three weeks later, each met with two other Ss and discussed a topic for five minutes with each of them. Before and after each discussion, they filled in the A-V scale as they thought their partners had filled theirs in. Before one of the discussions, S was instructed to focus his attention on himself; before the other discussion, he was asked to focus attention on his partner. "Discussion of the findings suggested that assimilative projection occurs in situations in which incorporation of the other person into already existing constructs about the self is facilitated by focusing attention upon the self. Accurate prediction of the other person takes place when differentation of the self from other is facilitated by focusing attention on the other person." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The perception of Jewish photographs by non-Jews and Jews.

2 groups of Ss, a Jewish group and a non-Jewish group labeled 100 photographs as Jewish or non-Jewish and selected the 30 that appeared most Jewish-looking. "In both groups high F scorers, but in neither group was there a significant difference in accuracy between high and low scorers. There was no significant relationship in either group between response bias and accuracy. With respect to between-group differences Jews were more accurate than non-Jews and manifested a tendency to label more photographs as Jewish." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Putatively psychosis-prone subjects 10 years later.

The predictive validities of several indicators of psychosis proneness were evaluated in a 10-yr longitudinal study (N?=?508). As hypothesized, high scorers on the Perceptual Aberration Scale, Magical Ideation Scale, or both (n?=?182), especially those who initially reported psychoticlike experiences of at least moderate deviance, exceeded control Ss (n?=?153) on psychoses (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III—Revised [DSM-III-R]), psychotic relatives, schizotypal symptoms, and psychoticlike experiences at follow-up. Ss who initially scored high on the Magical Ideation Scale and above the mean on the Social Anhedonia Scale were especially deviant. The Physical Anhedonia Scale and the Impulsive Nonconformity Scale were not effective predictors of psychosis proneness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-monitoring and cooperation as a self-presentational strategy.

Investigated the hypothesis that cooperation may occur as a result of strategic self-presentation that is instrumental for increasing personal gain. 149 undergraduates played a decomposed Prisoner's Dilemma game with a bogus partner. The prospect of future interaction with the partner and the discernment of the partner (i.e., contingency in giving approval) were manipulated, and Ss were classified as scoring high or low on a self-monitoring scale. It was hypothesized that high self-monitors would exhibit more variability in cooperative behavior across social contexts and would be more cooperative with discerning partners and partners with whom they anticipated future interaction than would low self-monitors. As predicted, the prospect of future interaction with a partner increased the cooperation of the high, but not the low, self-monitors. Cooperation was not related to attraction for the partner (Interpersonal Judgment Scale) for either high or low self-monitors. Correlates of self-monitoring did not predict cooperation. Results are discussed in terms of individual differences in motives for cooperation and strategic self-presentation. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Curiosity and control: On the determinants of the search for social knowledge.

Hypothesized that people will be particularly inclined to seek information about others when they have recently been deprived of control. 61 female undergraduates experienced either noncontrollable outcomes on a problem-solving task or had no such experience. Ss were then introduced to a 2nd unrelated study in which they expected to interview another individual. Some Ss were led to believe that acquiring information about the interviewee would have high utility; others were given no such expectation. The effects of these manipulations were assessed. Results confirm the hypothesis. There was also an independent tendency for Ss to seek highly diagnostic information when they believed that the information had high utility. The relationship between the motive to maintain control and the processes by which people formulate and sustain images of themselves and others is discussed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contributions of specific cell information to judgments of interevent contingency.

College students considered the possible effect of an experimental drug on a skin rash. The information came from a 2?×?2 contingency table involving receipt or nonreceipt of the drug and improvement or nonimprovement of the rash: Cell A?=?receipt–improvement; Cell B?=?receipt–nonimprovement; Cell C?=?nonreceipt–improvement; Cell D?=?nonreceipt–nonimprovement. Without numerical information, Ss judged cells to be ordered A?>?B?>?C?>?D. The same order held when the contribution of each cell was derived from the contingency judgments of other Ss given numerical information. No such consistency was seen when one group of Ss made both judgments; whether individual Ss equally or unequally assessed the importance of the four cells, their contingency estimates showed cell use to be ordered A?>?B?>?C?>?D. These findings may result from strong biases that Ss harbor in processing contingency information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancy, alcohol, and sex guilt as determinants of interest in and reaction to sexual stimuli.

Selected 72 male undergraduate social drinkers from high, moderate, and low scorers on the Sex Guilt subscale of the Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Scale. Ss were assigned to 1 of 4 conditions in a balanced-placebo design utilized to control for psychological as well as physiological factors determining the effects of drinking on behavior. After consuming beverages, Ss viewed and evaluated photographic slides of erotic content and then reported on their sexual arousal. The time Ss spent viewing each slide was unobtrusively recorded. Overall, greater sexual arousal was indicated by Ss who thought they had received alcoholic beverages, regardless of actual drink content. In all conditions except the high sex guilt/expect tonic groups, viewing times increased as a positive linear function of pornography ratings of the slides. Results demonstrate that psychological aspects of individual differences can mediate expectancy effects in research on alcohol and social behavior. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlates of two types of xenophilic orientation.

"A sample of 422 college students at Boston University responded to scales measuring tendencies toward xenophilia, authoritarianism, hostility toward typical Americans, willingness to stereotype, and interest in travelling abroad… . High scorers on the Xenophile Scale can be distinguished from low scorers on the above dimensions. High xenophiles seem to be more willing to stereotype, express hostility toward typical Americans, and express a stronger desire to travel than low xenophiles. Predictions were made concerning two varieties of high xenophiles, high scorers and low scorers on the California F scale. It was found that the low authoritarians were more attracted to things foreign than the highs along several dimensions. Furthermore among low scorers on the Xenophile scale, clear distinctions were found among the high and low F scale scorers. The highs were more willing to stereotype than were the lows." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test anxiety and academic performance: The effects of study-related behaviors.

Investigated (a) the relationship of test anxiety to academic performance in college students, (b) differences in study-related behaviors between high and low test-anxious Ss, and (c) differential effectiveness of study-related behaviors for both groups. Undergraduate Ss were 65 high and 31 low scorers on the Test Anxiety Scale. Results demonstrate a significant decrement in GPA associated with test anxiety. High test-anxious Ss were also found to have poorer study skills. For high test-anxious Ss, quality of study habits and amount of study time were positively related to academic performance, whereas missing classes and delaying exams were inversely related to performance. Findings are discussed in terms of the prevailing interference model of test anxiety. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)